Moscow supports regular consultations with US on cyber security

MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Russia plans to discuss with the United States the topic of preventing incidents in cyber space, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador-at-Large and special presidential representative for issues of international cooperation in the sphere of informational security Andrey Krutskikh told “Kommersant” newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.
“Talking about the Russian side, we have long supported holding regular meetings (bilateral consultations on cyber security took place in April in Geneva). We want them to become routine. We are talking about meetings at all levels – high political (like it happened in Geneva), expert, and departmental levels,” Krutskikh said.

“Apart from that, military officials should also talk to each other,” the diplomat noted.
“I think that in the conditions of intensifying presidential campaign, Americans will not have time for meetings with anybody. They are entering the final stage, after all. Contacts will probably remain between us in the framework of three existing agreements on confidence-building measures, signed by (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and (US President) Barack Obama in 2013,” he went on.
“Expert will continue this but I think that something broader may be discussed after (US presidential) election,” Krutskikh noted.
Talking about the agenda of the meetings, the diplomat said that apart from confidence-building measures, Russia wants to discuss the topic of preventing incidents between the two countries. “It is another question how it will be fulfilled. But the topic is very interesting for us and for Americans as well. It is in the interests of both business and ordinary people. One thing is to notify and warn each other, and another thing is to directly and practically cooperate on preventing incidents,” he concluded.